Life Coach - Kaikaku - 17 - Bargaining power

Again a blog that starts in different directions only to merge later. Sometimes I feel this is a pattern of my life too. I dabble in completely unrelataed things and somehow, somewhere they are all related. Seems like there is a unseen coordinated pattern running the show and I am only the player acting it out.

1. I drive an Altima Nissan. It is a lower end car which serves my need of transportation. One good thing about this car and many other cars in the same class is their ability to inform the driver of any possible malfunction in addition to service reminders - misfiring, my battery starting to die down, seat belt not fastened, doors not shut completely and things of such nature. All I do is take it to the service center where they connect a meter which reads the code and I know what exactly needs to be fixed. Expensive cars come with more functions / alerts / warnings.

2. Wal Mart exerts a lot of influence over its suppliers. If it says that they should introduce RFID on the pellets for easier stock taking and inventory control, they do it. If Wal Mart wants sandwich bag makers to sell their stuff unbranded, they do it.

http://www.evolvingexcellence.com/blog/2010/02/score-another-one-for-the-good-guys.html If they want cereal makers to drop their prices due to recession, they do it by making the boxes smaller removing the excess volume of emptiness that make the boxes bigger and occupy shelf space.

3. I recently had the opportunity to try a Kevlar bullet proof jacket. It was so light. I remember my RR bullet proof of ceramic plates. It weighed around 16 kg including the groin guard and patka and we had to walk the hills of Doda with it. Kevlar was so light in comparison - around 6 kg and flexible too.

4. I recently purchased a jacket to face the Canadian winters. It had pockets in the right place - a pocket on the arm sleeve for my keys, a slant pocket for cell phone, a pocket for wallet, Ipod, camera, internal chamber for Ipod wires so that they do not dangle around. It was a well designed jacket apart from the fact that it was water proof, warm for temperatures upto minus 30 C, machine washable and so light. Then I remembered my RR jacket and parka - heavy, voluminous, pockets ill designed.

5. I purchased a hat - it fits snugly on the head and has floppy sides with in built detachable parka, has a mesh for breathing, chin strap, it protects the forehead (rigid flap) as well as the back of the neck from the sun (floppy flap), etc.

6. I buy an item in Wal Mart, Target, Kohls or any big super store. If it does not work the way it should be, I can return the item to any of its branches across US - unconditionally. Now consider our Canteen Stores Department - I bought a heating pad and the element failed, a food processor whose bearings wore out within 3 months. I had to take it to the service center for repairs. In case of the processor there was no service center in Mumbai.

Defence services are a big market to any supplier. It is sometimes a wonder what our bargaining power is. Is it just in getting items cheaper than the market rates? Why do we not use our bargaining power for insisting that manufacturers provide us features that we need. Could an air bag have saved Jitender Pandit's life? I dont know. But I have seen at least 3 army jeep accidents that have been fatal wherein an air bag could have make a difference.

The more I browse through stores both virtual and online, the more I see and relate to what we can do better with our bargaining power. Let me blog top of the mind things.

1. Vehicles with options of seat belts, alerts, air bags, service reminders

2. CSD - unconditional return of defective items

3. Clothes well designed, hats, jackets, trousers, pitthu- functional and utilitarian

4. Tents, bivouacs, store tents, pandals for mandir/gurudwara parades/langars/raising day that are light, easy to install and durable and keep sun and cold out depending on what you want

5. Tools for tradesmen - for example pneumatic drills, nail guns, laser levellers, spray painting guns, tons of tools that I can think of

6. Bullet proofs - Kevlar based http://www.ktsm.com/news/bulletproof-clothing

7. Air proof coffins / body bags- sorry about that, but we do need it if we want the body to reach the home with least deterioration

8. Fuel pumps for pumping fuel fast and without leakage

9. Electric meat cutting slicers, coconut scrapers, electric knives and other kitchen equipment http://www.acehardware.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1835665&cp=2568443.2568448.2626057.1259989

10. Steam press http://www.unbeatablesale.com/re114.html?srccode=cii_11138&cpncode=23-75314384-2 Most of the commerical operators use such kind of press. It takes 30 seconds to press a trouser and maybe a minute for a shirt at the most.

And I repeat that we can get them at the same price as before, if we only ask for them. Or we can build a business case of efficiency and hence total cost of ownership if needed.

The issue here is not whether we need these features or not, but more about do we really know our bargaining power and are we making use of it.